Toothbrush



Nov. 28, 1961 I c. KISKY EfiWJEl TOOTHBRUSH Filed May 23, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

CHRISTIAN KISK Y Buckhorn, Chearham 8 Blore ATTORNEYS 3&1 ,131

C. KISKY TOOTHBRUSH Nov. 28, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 23, 1960 INVENTOR.

CHRISTIAN KISKY Buckhorn, Cheafham 8 B/ore A T TORNE Y5 United States Patent Q 3,010,131 TOOTHBRUSH Christian Kisky, Lake Grove, Oreg. Filed May 23, 1960, Ser. No. 31,115 2 Claims. (Cl. -467) My present invention comprises an improvement upon the toothbrush described and claimed in my prior Patent No. 2,603,806, issued July 22, 1952. The present invention has for its objects the perfection of certain principles embodied in the toothbrush of said prior patent and elimination of certain disadvantages which have become apparent in extensive usage thereof.

An object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush which will encourage the use of the proper method of brushing teeth. The correct principle of brushing is that the teeth should be brushed vertically, or in line with the interdental spaces, as distinguished from the ordinary practice of brushing horizontally or across the surfaces in line with the gums. Horizontal brushing, particularly when a stiff brush is used, may result in rapid deterioration of the enamel of the teeth, particularly at the thinly enameled portions thereof adjacent the gums. Furthermore, such horizontal brushing serves to pack food particles between the teeth rather than to cleanse the dental crevices, thus causing the accumulation of deposits wherein caries-forming bacteria may flourish, or enamel-destroying acids develop. The present invention is designed to promote the use of the proper vertical brushing motion due to the inherent characteristics of the brush.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a brush wherein the bristles are mounted in a transverse band upon a thin, platelike head lying in a plane at an acute angle to the axis of the handle, thus providing a structure capable of reaching remote and ordinarily inaccessible portions of the teeth and permitting the brushing thereof with the proper vertical brushing movement.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a brush wherein the bristles are so inclined with respect to the elongated handle that they are caused to approach the teeth and gums at an approximate angle of fortyfive degrees thereto, whereby the bristles will yield and bend rather than jab into the tissues of the gums. The advantage of such a construction is that the gmms are protected against inflammation and puncturing by stiff, sharp bristles, and thus opportunities for gum-deteriorating bacteria to penetrate the tissues of the gum are lessened.

In connection with the foregoing, it will be noted that the bristles of the brush of my present invention extend in exactly the opposite direction from those of the brushes of my prior patent. In said prior patent the bristle-bearing surface is inclined at an acute angle of about thirty degrees with the bristle surface at one side of the axis of the handle, the bristles lie entirely at the same side of the axis of the handle, the bristles are extended at an acute angle to the bristle-bearing surface, and the bristles are all of equal length; whereas in the present invention the bristle head lies entirely at one side of the axis of the handle, the bristles extend normally thereto, the bristlebearing surface faces toward the axis of the handle, the bristles are normal to the bristle-bearing surface, the bristles extend back across the axis of the handle to a considerable distance therebyond and terminate in a plane substantially parallel to the axis of the handle, and the bristles are of different lengths with the shortest bristles nearest to the handle. As a result of this construction the shorter, hence stiffer, bristles are the ones "ice which enter the spaces between the teeth and the longer, hence softer, bristles are the ones which engage and massage the gums. Furthermore, the shorter, teeth-cleaning bristles are backed by, and hence stiffened by, the longer, succeeding bristles. Furthermore, this construction requires that trimming of the bristles during fabrication of the toothbrush be done in a direction away from the handle, so that hooks or sharp points which are often formed during the trimming of nylon bristles are rendered innocuous because they are pushed away from the gums during normal use of the toothbrush. Observation of many dental patients using the present invention confirms that the foregoing factors result in remarkable recovery of inflamed and diseased gum tissue.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush having the foregoing characteristics, objects and advantages, wherein the handle portion and the bristle head are integral and connected together by an integral neck portion, with all portions smoothly flowing together along curved surfaces, whereby pinching and cutting of cheek and lip tissue is substantially eliminated, even though forceful brushing should be practiced.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush of the foregoing character in which the handle portion comprises a plurality of substantially equal, alined, square nodes separated by concave surfaces leading to substantially equal, alined, square antinodes, whereby the toothbrush may be gripped and held firmly in proper position even when wet and slippery, and whereby the brush naturally places itself in the hand of the user with the bristles projecting in the proper direction regardless of whether the head is held uppermost for brushing the upper teeth or lowermost for brushing thelower teeth.

The foregoing objects and advantages of the present invention will be more fully apparent from a study of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

In the drawings, 7

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a brush made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially from the plane of the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken substantially along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are enlarged vertical sections taken substantially along lines 55, 6-6 and 7-7, respectively, of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are enlarged vertical sections taken sub stantially along lines 88 and 99, respectively, of FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a view showing the toothbrush of the present invention in the grip of a user, as indicated by the dash outline of a hand, when engaged for downward brushing of the upper teeth;

FIG. 11 is a view showing the toothbrush of the present invention in the grip of a user, as indicated by the dash outline of a hand, when engaged for upward brushing of the lower teeth;

FIG. 12 is a view illustrating principles of the brush in use; and l FIG. 13 is a view' similar to FIG. 12.

The brush comp-rises an elongated handle 10 and an integral bristle head 11 connected together by an integral neck portion 12. The handle is symmetrical throughout about a longitudinal axis indicated at 13, is rectangular in cross-section throughout, and comprises three substantially equal, alined, square nodes 14 separated by two sets of concave surfaces leading to two substantially equal, alined, square antinodes indicated at 15. Each antinode space -is of a length such that the ball of the users thumb may fit into it, the tip of the thumb pressing against one of the outer nodes. The bristle head comprises a relatively thin, triangular plate having a broad back surface 16 and a substantially parallel, broad, bristle-bearing surface 17 which lies closer to the handle axis than the back surface, the surfaces being inclined outwardly away from the handle and lying entirely at one side of the axis of the handle. The triangular plate, including the bristle surface, is inclined at an angle of about thirty degrees with respect to the axis of the handle and with respect to a parallel plane passing through alined edges of the nodes 14. The surfaces leading through the neck portion 12 to the nearest node 14 are smoothly curved and the neck portion 12 is substantially rectangular in outline with a minimum width about twice its minimum thickness, the width being parallel to the broad dimensions of the head. The side surfaces flowing toward the head are smoothly concave, as is the surface flowing toward the broad back surface 16 of the head, and the surface flowing toward the bristle-bearing surface of the head is smoothly convex. The nodes 14 have dimensions about twice those of the antinodes 15, and the width of the neck portion 12 is about equal to the width of the antinodes. It is to be appreciated that all edges are chamfered or smoothly rounded so as to avoid sharp edges which might cut or pinch tissue of the mouth.

The bristle head is substantially triangular in outline, with the side edges thereof diverging symmetrically away from the handle, and the base or long edge thereof being the extremity of the solid portion of the brush including the handle. The maximum width of the head is about twice that of the dimensions of the nodes 14, and all edges and corners are smoothly rounded. As seen most clearly in FIG. 1, the back or broad surface 16 of the head furthest from the axis of the handle is substantially smaller than the bristle surface 17, to facilitate entry of the brush into confined spaces.

The bristle head comprises a plurality of bristles 20 arranged in a transverse band adjacent the broadest or terminal edge of the bristle head, and extending substantially normal to the bristle surface 17. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, the bristles extend across the longitudinal axis of the handle and terminate substantially in a plane 21 which includes alined edges of the nodes 14. As a result of this construction the bristles adjacent the end edge of the brush project beyond the solid portion thereof and are materially longer than the bristles nearest to the bandle, the length of the bristles progressing from one extreme to the other. Therefore, the bristles next to the handle are short and hence stiff as compared to the bristles next to the terminal edge. These short and stiff bristles are the ones which enter the crevices and do the Work of dislodging accumulations of food. As seen in FIG. 12 particularly, these short'and stiff bristles do not usually engage the gum tissues, or engage the tissues lightly and are more or less unemployed during the portion of the brushing stroke which massages the gums, gum massage being done by the longer, softer bristles. Also, because of this construction trimming of the bristles after they are mounted is forced to be done in a direction of cutting stroke away from the handle, so that any acute hooks or sharppoints are at the terminal edges of the bristle ends which engage the gums, and are forced away from the gum tissue by the brushing action. As seen most clearly in FIG. 3, the bristles are mounted in the usual fashion as bristle tufts 22 secured in bristle sockets 23 in the bristle head, and extend in a plurality of transverse rows, the bristle tufts being staggered in adjacent rows so that all areas are covered. Also, it will be observed that the row of bristles adjacent the handle is relatively short compared to the last row, whereby considerable light massaging of the gum tissue is accomplished in overlapping zones as the shorter row of tooth-cleaning bristles is successively engaged with relatively narrow zones of the tooth area. The foregoing principles are illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13.

The plane 21 in which the bristles terminate may be slightly tilted with respect to the plane passing through the node edges, as illustrated, without affecting the foregoing principles. However, it is preferred that the bustle tips terminate short of or at the plane 21, rather than beyond it, in order that the bristles may not be held in bent condition when the toothbrush is encased in a plastic container or the like, or when the toothbrush is laid on a shelf between periods of use.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate the toothbrush gripped in the hand of a user, showing that in either direction of usage, whether stroking down against the upper teeth or stroking up against the lower teeth, the nodes, antinodes and intervening surfaces provide a plurality of gripping surfaces which fall naturally into the bends of the longer fingers and locating surfaces which are naturally engaged by the thumb and shorter fingers. This accomplishes two functions; first the toothbrush is firmly gripped even when slippery, and secondly the bristles are naturally held in the proper plane of relationship to the gums and teeth.

Having illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the same permits of modification in detail and arrangement. I claim as my invention all such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A toothbrush comprising an elongated handle and a bristle head, said handle being symmetrical about a lon: gitudinal axis and rectangular in cross-section throughout, said handle comprising a plurality of substantially equal, alined, square nodes separated by concave surfaces leading to substantially equal, alined, square antinodes whereby said nodes are spaced relatively widely apart so that said concave surfaces correspond to the normal gripping action of the fingers, said bristle head comprising a relatively thin, substantially triangular plate integrally connected to said handle, the edges of said head symmetrically diverging away from said handle, the terminal edge of said head being substantially normal to said axis, and the broad surfaces of said head being substantially parallel and lying entirely at one side of the axis of the handle, said triangular plate being inclined outwardly away from the axis of the handle whereby the broad surfaces of said plate are inclined to said axis at an angle of about thirty degrees, and said bristle head comprising a transverse band of bristles projecting from the broad surface of the said head nearest the axis of the handle and extending to the other sideof said axis.

2. A toothbrush comprising an elongated handle and a bristle head, said handle being symmetrical about a longitudinal axis and rectangular in cross-section throughout, said handle comprising a plurality of substantially equal, alined, square nodes separated by concave surfaces leading to substantially equal, alined, square antinodes of about half the dimensions of said nodes, said bristle head comprising a relatively thin, substantially triangular plate integrally connected to said handle, the sides of said head symmetrically diverging away from said handle, the terminal edge of said head being substantially normal to said axis, and the broad surfaces of said head being substantially parallel and lying entirely at one side of the axis of the handle, said head being inclined outwardly away from the axis of the handle whereby the broad surfaces of said head are inclined to said axis at an angle of about thirty degrees, the neck portion of said handle leading to said head being substantially rectangular in cross-section with a minimum width about equal to the width of said antinodes and a minimum thickness of about half the thickness of said antinodes, said head comprising a plurality of bristles extending substantialiy normal to the References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Goodman Nov. 30, 1937 Dolniok Mar. 19, 1946 Gore Mar. 2, 1954 10 D. 107,228 D. 144,163 D. 171,592

6 Wadsworth June 19, 1860 Allman Mar. 11, 1913 Gardner Nov. 25, 1919 Cohen May 13, 1941 Kisky July 22, 1952 Aschenbach Nov. 19, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS Italy May 5, 1937 France June 14, 1948 

